Civilian Gun Ownership Rates Rising Across Europe

Even as the crackdown on gun ownership in some states here in the USA progresses, people all across Europe are jumping through the required hoops to legally acquire firearms for self defense due to rising crime rates and terrorism. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, and The Timesin the UK, it truly appears that Europeans have decided that they don’t want to wait for the police any more than we do here.

When hundreds of women were sexually assaulted on New Year’s Eve in several German cities three years ago, Carolin Matthie decided it was time to defend herself. The 26-year-old Berlin student quickly applied for a gun permit, fearing many women would have the same idea and flood the application process.

“If I don’t do it now, I will have to wait maybe another half year,” she recalls thinking. – Wall Street Journal

Women wanting to defend themselves. The same trend we’ve seen in the US. Women are the largest growing segment of new gun owners, even in places like Iraq. Women who truly want to be independent have learned that that can’t rely on government for their protection.

In Italy, Matteo Salvini, the Interior Minster and Deputy Prime Minister has pledged to loosen the European boot’s tough gun laws. In 2014, there were 400,000 applications filed for gun permits. In 2018, that number rose to 600,000. Back in October, Mr. Salvini told the Italian public that, “Defense is always legitimate! From words to action.”

Alas, the shining beacon of liberty, the United States of America, is going backwards at the moment with states enacting more stringent gun laws and President Trump (bump stock ban) and Republicans like Marco Rubio (red flag laws) pushing more restrictions. The fight to defend and extend our civil rights never ends.

Unless a LOT more people in Europe sign up (get a weapon) to defend their families things will continue to go down hill. The Muslim population guarantees that. Demographics suggest a fully Islamic Europe in the not too distant future and the blood of infidels will flow freely.

It could happen in a fairly short time if the citizenry figured out and did something about the root problem that’s causing all of the grief, namely socialist, internationalist politicians. There are people like Nigel Farage that if they got control would change things quickly.

Har that’s a laugh. The Bundeswehr could wet a paperbag. Liechtensteinn could kick their ass. The most neutered rabble in eurowussieland. Though oncegreatbritain is not all that far behind the UK can at least put together ONE armored Bde. Most/some days.

The actual number of crimes in Germany committed by migrants in 2015 may exceed 400,000.

The report does not include crime data from North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state in Germany and also the state with the largest number of migrants. North Rhine-Westphalia’s biggest city is Cologne, where, on New Year’s Eve, hundreds of German women were sexually assaulted by migrants.

“For years the policy has been to leave the [German] population in the dark about the actual crime situation… The citizens are being played for fools. Rather than tell the truth, they [government officials] are evading responsibility and passing blame onto the citizens and the police.” — André Schulz, director, Association of Criminal Police, Germany.

I’m not sure about Germany, but some of those EU countries (UK) are notorious for under-reporting violent crime. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hott Fuzz (highly recommended) it’s actually more of a documentary than fiction.

JWT
Are you referring to Germany as a whole or the major German cities? The same can be said for the United States. Crime overall is dropping in the USA. But in certain cities and neighborhoods, crime is out of control. Our FBI does not say crime is going down in major American cities. What about major German cities?

Did you actually read the report, all of it? I have, and there are several red flags in both their preliminary remarks, as well as supposed changes from year to year (2016 to 2017) in that report that make me ask “What’s going on here?”

The report you cite says “Not included are offences against state security (politically motivated crime)…”

That’s pretty interesting to exclude, and an interesting classification into which many of their recent high-profile crimes can be included. Deutsche Welle seems to think that there have been recent large increases in this classification:

Then let’s look at some of the tables. In particular, please look at the following two tables:

2.1 – T01. Look at the rates for non-German suspects, and then including immigrants. Declines by more than 20% in one year? I’m immediately suspicious. That usually doesn’t happen without statistical thimblerigging.

2.2 – T01. Look at “rape and sexual coercion / sexual assaults.” Why are the deltas “x” instead of someone doing the math? Look at the numbers – increases for both German and non-German suspects, and not small increases, either. But the BKA left the change and change percentages as “x”? Yea, right there, I’m dropping the BS flag on them. Suddenly, basic mathematics can’t be performed?

Here’s a couple of numbers computed for them: 38% increase in the number of non-German rape suspects, and 49% increase in the number of German rape suspects.

Yes, I read the full report, which includes the 2017 data. The article you’ve posted was from a year ago, and based on 2015 data. There was a big spike in violent crime when all of the refugees arrived in 2015. That spike included was still less than the violent crime rate a decade before, and the spike was short lived. The new data shows those rates have been diminishing since 2016. No matter what data you look at, the crime rate in Germany is not skyrocketing. There was a short lived rise a few years ago, and then back to the steady decline we see today.

I read the entire WSJ piece by Valentina Pop who also spouts the usual BS. She states as a fact that “gun violence” will increase in direct proportion to gun ownership. And that European gun violence is nowhere near the levels we have in the U.S. That’s fine as long as the people in the U.K. don’t mind huge levels of stabbings and home invasions.

In 10 years there will be Muslims throughout the European government demanding Sharia Law and rights for Islam.
In 20 years Muslims will control the governments in Europe. Birkas for every woman, beards for every man.
In 30 years the purge will begin. Notice how many non Muslims live in Iraq, Egypt, etc.
In 40 years the flags, language, and culture will be replaced and any sign of the past erased.

Ferguson, Baltimore, Milwaukee, LA… “Those who wish to destroy, will be given room to destroy.”- Democrat mayor of Baltimore, the day before the city burned. But it really isn’t a race issue. Skin color has nothing to do with it. But liberal entitlement programs (modern slavery), sure does.

You are correct when you have organized groups (criminal gangs) with firepower very similar to what the police have. Also when you have shooting nearing every day and night I would say you have combat. And the body count is going up. And the good people don’t have guns. In Afghanistan, combat is not like it was in Iraq. Its not like Vietnam or Iwo Jima either.

Its easy to have a war when only one side has guns. We do have Cyber Warfare, no guns. We have a war on the traditional family, no guns. We have wars that destroy people all the time. And don’t use guns.

When they gangsters leave the inner city, it is for new suburban areas. Here in SoCal, 2 desert areas were affordable and many in the inner city moved there. They took their ways, followed by cheap apartment buildings for the relatives and the gangs went right along. All you get is a better looking hood, for a while.

check the record
we didnt promise it
black lives matter did
do a bing search for
“black lives matter kill all white people”
not google
google sweeps this stuff under the rug
youll get about 11 million hits
white genocide
killing white babies
its all there
you just have to get past your cognitive dissonance and normalcy bias is all

After years of enduring European pontificating about American violence and cowboyism, it’s rather satisfying to watch the chickens coming home to roost. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, reality is beginning to dawn on those in Europe still able to think.

Boosht. When the SHTF, they’d be back begging again. Just like 1919 did not prevent them making all the same mistakes while imagining their superiority all the way up to 1939. And then counted on uncivilized us to save their bacon.

I find it interesting that contrary to what certain politically minded individuals think, most gun owning men want more gun owning women…the only woman I have time for is one can handle herself…and others. Oh, but *I’m* the oppressor…

It’s kind of meaningless that more Europeans are now owning firearms in their homes. Germany, like many other European countries, forbids you to carry a gun for self-defense in public. Germany also requires you to store the firearm in your home in a safe separate from the ammunition. I believe Belgium is similar to Germany in there gun laws.
As always it is only the vice grad countries that are a shining beacon of gun freedom.
The Czech Republic is shall issue gun permit and conceal carry in public is permitted. However they did not allow unlimited third world migration into the Czech republic. So they now have the best of both worlds

Concerning Germany, the BKA (sort of the local “FBI”) acknowledges that there are around15-20 million non registered firearms in the country (what they like to call illegal, because registration is mandatory). Those were mostly purchased through mail order before 1972, when there was no mandatory registration, or passed on by grand pa from WW1 or WW2, and simply ‘forgotten’ to register. Does anyone really think they are stored separately from ammo in the bedside drawer, especially now?
Second point: depending on the safe quality level, you actually can store ammo and firearms in the same place…
Last point: self defense law is actually pretty ‘good’, you just need the money and stamina to go through several levels of justice. Just as an example: a biker was raided by police ‘swat’, they didn’t announce themselves, he feared for his life, shot with an ‘illegal’ non registered pistol and killed one policeman through the door: he was released at the end.

whats past is prologue
the same kind of stuff that happened in samarra iraq circa 2006-2007:
sectarian violence
urban strife
civil war
etc
is coming to europe
those living there now that doubt that do so at their own peril
look at whats already happening in sweden:
armed muslim youths roaming about with kalishnikovs
grenade attacks on police headquarters
no go zones everywhere
in the words of barack hussein obama in the aftermath of 4 americans killed in benghazi
ITS NOT OPTIMAL

Have you been to Sweden? I have. Last summer. Week in Stockholm, week in Gothenburg. Amazing city’s. Much, cleaner, nicer, safer and interesting than most midsized American city’s. 90 plus percent of the population was white (largely atheist actually), 10 percent not white just to much for you? There is no such thing as a western European “no go” zone, it’s a myth. You sir are a lunatic living in an alternate reality.

Those cities you admire in Sweden have a hand grenade problem you might want to look into. The police report 1000 dollars gets you a full automatic weapon from the Balkins and a few hand grenades these days.
Sweden showed the world how not to do refugee immigration from the third world.

A shot gun is better than no hand gun at all. I assume they can only have a double barrel long gun. No multi pump action guns. Except in the Czech Republic. I believe they are the only European state that allows a private citizen to own a 9mm handgun. A .22 caliber in France if you are one of the lucky ones.

European here. Sir, you are very much mistaken. I do not live in Czech Republic, but I own a 9 mm pistol and a 357 revolver. We have no magazine capacity restrictions in place like in CT or NY. It’s possible to apply for permits for up to five pistols / revolvers / long rifled rifles (in total) without too much of a hussle. We have many other limitations in place – no ammo reloading, no silencers, I have to apply for a permit when I have to buy ammo, no consealed carry (you need an extra permit for that, not easy to get one). All in all, could be worse, but yes, it could be better too.

“To little, too late, etc.” Maybe so…but, c’mon people. This is good news. Pure and simple. Can’t wait for the news story when a fraulien offs an undocumented, would-be rapist. How will the media spin that.